The ReCurse
by elmo-doodle
Summary: One year after Kyo and Tohru left, they're back at Shigure's for summer vacation. Of course, things don't stay quiet for long, especially when the Sohma Curse is involved...


**elmo-doodle:** This is a better attempt at a Fruits Basket fanfiction than what I did with _Ringu_, I promise ^_^ This idea has been knocking about in my head for a while, and I started this last week but hesitated in putting it up. I hope that you follow this one to the end =] Oh, and I know there's no such word as "Re-curse", but it sounded so original that I had to keep it XD

**WARNINGS:** SPOILERS!! For the ending of Fruits Basket!! If you don't want to know what happens in the end, then don't read this . Also, mild swearing, courtesy of Kyo ;]

**Notes:** This takes place a year after Fruits Basket left off.

**The Re-Curse**

**Chapter One: The Curse Returns  
**

"Yuki-kun, I'm going out to shop for groceries, okay?"

Yuki looked up at Tohru in shock. "You don't need to do that, Tohru-san," he said, frowning. "You don't live here anymore... if anyone should be shopping it should be me, or Shigure."

"Oh, no!" Tohru said, horrified at the mere suggestion. "I couldn't possibly ask you to do it! You're so graciously letting me and Kyo-kun stay here for the summer... the least I can do in return is shop and cook and clean! Besides," she continued, smiling gently, "Yuki-kun still has work to do, and Shigure-san is so busy looking after little Aiko-- he's over at the main house so much!"

It was fourteen months after Yuki, Kyo and Tohru graduated from high school, and they had all returned back to Shigure's house for the two-month summer break. It wasn't long before the news of Akito's pregnancy reached them all, and now there was a new, 5 month old baby girl Sohma in the family. Tohru had briefly met the baby whenever she and Kyo visited the main house, and Aiko had inherited the black hair of her parents, and also the dark coloured eyes of her mother. She was absolutely adorable, and she made Tohru feel a _little_ bit broody.

"Apparently, I can't stop you," Yuki said, sighing in defeat. "Do you need any help carrying the bags?"

Tohru shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'll be back soon!" She waved cheerfully and went to the porch to sit down and put her shoes on. As she was doing that the front door opened, and Kyo stepped in, dressed in his karate clothes. "Ah, Kyo-kun! You're back early!"

"Yeah. Shishou didn't need much help, and he let his class out early today because it's summer." Kyo rolled his eyes, and then he spotted Tohru wearing her shoes. "Are you going out?"

"Yes! I need to do some grocery shopping!" Tohru said beaming, while Kyo sweatdropped at her enthusiasm for such a mundane task.

"Do you need some help?" he asked her.

"No, it's okay-- I'm not getting that much," Tohru said. She stood up and smiled widely at him. "I won't be long," she said, starting to move past him but she was blocked as Kyo stood in front of her. "Um, Kyo...?"

Kyo just smiled and leaned towards her, lowering his mouth to hers. Tohru blushed as he wrapped his arms around her petite frame, but she responded by lacing her arms around his neck. She didn't protest as Kyo gently pushed her backwards so that her back hit the wall. He was just beginning to deepen the kiss when--

"Naughty, Kyo! What are you doing to our poor little flower?"

The next moment, Shigure was lying on the floor cradling his head. Kyo's shoe lay beside him, and it took Tohru a moment to register that he had even moved. Her shock was pushed away by her concern for Shigure, and she began to move towards him but was stopped by Kyo's outstretched arm.

"Don't bother," he sighed, glaring at Shigure who was weeping. "The dog's fine." When Tohru still looked a little hesitant, he added, "Weren't you going shopping?"

"Oh, yes!" she said, and she hurried towards the front door. "I'll be back soon. If the others arrive while I'm gone, please tell them I'm sorry for making them wait!"

"Okay, okay, now go," Kyo said irritably, but its effect was lost when he smiled fondly at her. Tohru giggled as she shut the door behind her. Kyo made sure she was far enough away from the house before turning around to deal with Shigure properly.

**

Back at the main house, things were not quite as peaceful. Akito had the new staff searching high and low for something that had gone missing a few days ago-- it was a pendant that had belonged to her father, and his father before him, and so on. It had each of the zodiac animals carved on it and it was as old as the Sohma family. It had a deep magic within it which had been building up for years, and it would be activity if it was rubbed, almost something like a magic lamp. But what would come out of the pendant would definitely not be a genie.

The pendant had gone missing while Akito was putting her daughter down for a nap. She left the door open so that the room would remain cool. At that time, the pendant had been sitting on top of the chest of drawers, and when Akito had returned to the room some hours later, it was no longer there. That was three days ago, and the servants had been searching all that time with no result.

It was late in the morning of the fourth day that Akito realised something was wrong. She was in the bedroom, playing with Aiko when she felt a strange disturbance in the air. It didn't last very long but it was a strong magical presence and she couldn't pinpoint the source before it ended. She sat there silently, not hearing Aiko's babbles, and for a while all was still. And then the sound of footsteps could be heard hurrying towards the room. There was an urgent knocking and Akito permitted the person to enter. The Head Maid slid open the door, looking very stressed.

"Akito-sama," she said, bowing deeply before looking up. "There is a great problem!"

Akito stood. "What has happened, Rika?"

"One of my maids came to me just moments ago, declaring that there was a cow in the garden!" Rika gushed. "I went to check, and it was Hatsuharu-san!"

Akito felt her eyes widen. Out of all the servants in the main house, only Rika knew about the curse that used to be upon the family, and so it was as much as shock to her as it was to Akito.

"Have you checked on the other children?" Akito asked.

"No, Akito-sama," Rika said. "I will do that now. And, if I might be so bold to suggest it, perhaps it would be safer to remove the children from the main house if the curse has come upon them again. The new staff will get suspicious..."

Akito nodded after a moment. "You're right," she agreed. "I have no doubt that all the zodiac members have been changed. When you find them, tell them to meet at the back of the house. I will take them to Shigure's house, and you must create an excuse for their abscence and make sure to keep searching for the pendant-- it is the cause of this."

"Yes, sama," Rika said, bowing as she hurriedly left the room. Akito turned back to her daughter, who was watching her with curiousity.

"Come on, Aiko," Akito said, lifting the girl up. "We're going to go visit your father's house."

**

Tohru was humming happily to herself as she walked along the path in the woods. The house was in her sight now and she smiled, swinging the grocery bags slightly. Her cheerful singing stopped when she saw a car in the driveway, and she cocked her head to the side. She didn't recognise it, and it wasn't Hatori's vehicle either but, then again, he might have gotten a new one over the past year.

Tohru walked up the steps and slid the front door open, pausing to take her shoes off. "Kyo?" she called out, only to be met by silence. "Yuki-kun? Shigure-san? ...Hello?"

Tohru frowned as she walked through the house. She entered the kitchen to set the grocery bags down, but squeaked in surprise when she saw who was in there. "A-Akito-san?!"

Akito was leaning against one of the kitchen counters, with Aiko supported against her chest. Akito smiled nervously, which was Tohru's first clue that something was wrong-- Akito was _never_ nervous around her. The second clue was that Akito seemed to be shifting anxiously.

"Hello, Tohru-san," Akito said.

"Ah! Hello!" Tohru replied, setting the bags down and going over to Akito. "It's been so long since I've seen you!" Tohru noticed that Akito had grown her hair out longer, so that it was past her shoulders and it curled slightly. She had gotten out of the habit of wearing men's clothes long ago, and she was in a summer dress. Aiko squealed and waved at Tohru. Tohru beamed and patted her on the head. "She's grown so much since I saw her last! How are you, Akito-san? You seem a little nervous, is something wrong?"

"Um," Akito hesitated, and she bit her lip. "Something has happened... with the zodiac..."

"Eh?" Tohru asked, confused. "The zodiac? What do you mean?"

"There was this pendant--" Akito began, but she got no further when the kitchen door exploded open and a streak of grey whipped past them, followed by a blur of orange.

"You damn rat! **Get back here**!!"

"Why? So you can eat me?"

"Wha-- they--," Tohru stuttered, her eyes wide and disbelieving. "Huh!"

Kyo paused from where he was chasing Yuki half-way up the wall and looked back at Tohru. "Oh, you're home," he said, sliding back down to the floor.

"What happened?" Tohru asked in a whisper, looking at Akito.

Akito sighed. "Come on," she said, using her free hand to guide Tohru out of the kitchen. "Let's go sit down. I'll explain it all then."

Tohru allowed herself to be led in to the living room where an assortment of animals were sitting around the kotatsu. "Oh my," she mumbled, taking in to account the different animals who were there. Sitting there was a tiger, a rabbit, a ram, a snake, a dog and a boar. "This can't be good..."

"Tohru!" Momiji called, jumping over to her and into her arms, almost dislodging Yuki from his safe place on her shoulder. Momiji snuggled in to Tohru's embrace and looked up at her. "It's so good to see you! But look at what's happened to us again! Do you know what it is? Akito hasn't said anything yet but I was hoping that she would now that you're here and--"

"Momiji, please breathe," Shigure said, sighing. "I'm sure everything will be explained now."

Momiji remained quiet as Tohru took a seat beside Kisa. Kyo sat on the other side of Tohru and Akito sat next to Kyo, setting Aiko on her lap. Momiji remained happily in Tohru's arms and Yuki stayed on her shoulder-- Kyo wouldn't dare attack him if he was near Tohru. Kyo seemed to sense this thought and glared at the rat.

"So," Shigure said, sitting up. "Akito... what exactly is going on?"

She sighed. "The Jyuunishi Pendant has gone missing," Akito said. Everyone looked at her in confusion and Akito frowned. "Did I not tell _anyone _about it?" she inquired. Her answer was the blank glances that everyone was giving her. "The pendant has been in the Sohma family ever since the curse was set upon them. It has a deep magic within it, much like the magic that was the essence of the curse, but no matter what anybody did it couldn't be used to break the curse. The energy in the pendant has been building up for hundreds of years as the curse existed, but I noticed that the energy has remained the same ever since the curse was broken. I've tried to keep it out of reach so that nobody accidentally released the magic... but it went missing a few days ago."

"Missing?" Tohru repeated, eyes wide. "Like it's been stolen?"

Akito shook her head. "No, I don't think so," she said. "I've had all the maids search the Sohma estate, but it's o big that it's taking a while. Anyway, someone must have accidentally released the magic and it's changed all the previous zodiac members back in to their animal forms. I'm positive that it's only temporary, until the magic in the pendant runs out at least, but I don't know how long that will be."

"I see," Tohru said, frowning. "So, they could be like this for days?"

"Or weeks, or years," Shigure said, sighing. "So, you won't know for sure until the pendant is found?"

"This could be a problem," Yuki said. "Especially if we're like this for a long period of time."

"Never fret, dear brother!" Ayame exclaimed. "I will be with you to support you through your most difficult time yet! I will--"

"Cram it, reptile," Kyo said, stuffing some of the cushion in to Ayame's mouth.

"So, what's going to happen to the Jyuunishi?" Tohru asked, while Kyo continued to yell at Ayame.

"Um... I was hoping they could stay here?" Akito asked. "I would allow them to stay at the main house, but the ones here would attract too much attention from the new staff who don't know about the curse. Hatsuharu and Rin can stay there because the stables house cows and horses, so they won't be noticed much. However, the others..."

"That's okay!" Tohru chirped, smiling. "I'm sure they can stay here. I can look after them while they're here. Will Akito-san be staying here, too?"

Akito smiled back at her. "Yes," she said. "The staff have been told that I've taken the Sohma children up to the summer house, so it will be suspicious if I return to the main house. Is there room for me to stay?"

"Oh," Tohru said, her eyes widening. "Now that you mention it..." Not long after Tohru and Kyo had moved out, Kyo's old bedroom had been turned in to an extra study/nursery , meaning that whenever they returned for a visit Kyo had to share a room with Yuki (although most nights he snuck in to Tohru's bed and snuggled there with her). Kyo had demanded why Shigure even bothered to keep the old house in the woods, since he was over at the main house with Akito so much, to which Shigure whined: "Because I love this house, and I have too much stuff to move!"

"It's okay," Yuki said, patting Tohru's cheek with his tiny paw, "I'm sure we can work something out."

"You're right," Tohru said, smiling once more. She looked around the table.

"...Are you sure this is okay?" Akito asked. "I'm putting you under a lot of pressure..."

"No, no, it's okay," Tohru insisted. "Although it is a lot like a menagerie in here... but it will be fun! Especially since Akito-san and Aiko-chan are staying!"

Aiko looked up at the mention of her name and giggled, holding a hand out. Tohru took the tiny hand in hers and beamed at Aiko.

"Tohru! Torhu!" Momiji piped up. "Now that we're all gonna be here for a while, we get to play together, right?"

"Sure!" Tohru agreed. "All of us together!"

"There is no way in hell that I'm playing with the rabbit," Kyo muttered.

"Mou, Kyon's no fun," Momiji whined. "He got to spend time with Tohru for a whole year-- he needs to learn to share!"

"Is this normal between them?" Akito asked Tohru, over the noise of the cat and the rabbit arguing. "I've never properly interacted with more than one Sohma at a time..."

"Don't worry," Yuki assured her, "this is how they interact: they fight over Tohru."

Tohru giggled nervously. "That's not true..." she said. She looked around the table again and another thought hit her. "I think I'm going to need more groceries!"

**

In the end, it was decided that the men would stay in Shigure's room for the night, and Kisa and Kagura would stay in Yuki's. Akito would be sleeping in Tohru's room with Aiko. Tohru and Akito had easily moved the crib from the nursery in to her room so that Akito could stay near her daughter.

It was late that night before anyone went to bed. Momiji was a little too hyper, and he didn't want to stop playing with Kisa, Hiro and Kagura. Ayame and Shigure were just generally being noisy, and it took Tohru a while to coax Yuki down from the top of the fridge, assuring him that Kyo wasn't there anymore. Eventually though, everyone went in to their respective rooms, just after midnight.

"It feels like I've been looking after a kindergarten class," Tohru said as she collapsed on to the bed. "I wonder if it was safe to leave Yuki-kun and Ayame-san in the same room..."

"Do they really dislike each other so much?" Akito asked, as she rocked Aiko in her arms.

Tohru was unsure. "Yuki-kun doesn't get along with his brother, but Ayame-san has been trying so hard lately to bridge the gap between them... I think he just ends up making Yuki-kun mad..." she sighed. "I never understood how siblings couldn't like each other. I would have loved to have a little sister!"

Akito smiled slightly. "Me too," she said. "I wonder how differently my life would have turned out, if I wasn't an only child. Maybe I wouldn't have been so hard on Yuki if I had someone else to play with..." She turned around and gently set Aiko in the crib and made sure her daughter was comfortable before going to sit on the other side of the bed. "Still, I can't change what's been done, no matter how much I want to." When Tohru looked at her curiously, she asked: "Isn't there something about your past that you would want to change?"

"Oh no!" Tohru replied, shaking her head energetically. "I think if I changed something, I wouldn't be where I am today!"

"What about your mother? Wouldn't you want to change it so that she was still alive?"

Tohru looked a bit downcast. Akito was about to apologize for saying that, when Tohru said: "I'd love my mother, and it would be wonderful if she were still with me now... but if my mom hadn't left me when she did, I would never have met Yuki-kun, or Shigure-san or Kyo." She smiled. "I wouldn't have met the other Sohmas and become their friends. And," she continued, reaching across and taking Akito's hands in hers, "I would never have found a friend in Akito-san."

Akito smiled back at her, touched by the sincerity that rang through each of the other girl's words. "I'm glad we're friends, too," she replied, honestly.

"I'm so glad!" Tohru cried, her eyes beginning to tear up. "Ah! I'm sorry!" she said, taking her hands back and rubbing viciously at her eyes. "I'm just so happy that Akito-san is my friend!"

Akito was stunned for a moment before she laughed. Tohru looked up at hearing Akito giggle for the first time ever, and soon she was laughing, too.

"We should get some sleep," Akito said a few minutes later. "We must be up early."

"Yes!" Tohru said. She got up to turn the light off as Akito got in to one side of the bed. Once the room was dark, Tohru tried to use the moonlight to help navigate her way back to the bed. She made it without incident and climbed in to empty side of the bed. "Goodnight, Akito-san."

"Goodnight, Tohru-san."

* * *

**elmo-doodle:** Yay, first chapter =] Please review, and constructive criticism is really appreciated!


End file.
